From the Free Republic. Now that is an objective source...
And the NCPA. You can pick them.
Historically, Australia has had relatively low levels of violent crime. Overall levels of homicide and suicide have been in decline for several decades, while the proportion of these crimes that involved firearms has consistently declined since the early 1980s. Between 1991 and 2001, the number of firearm-related deaths in Australia declined 47%. [35] According to a 2011 report from the Australian government, "...the number of victims of homicide has been in decline since 1996". There were 354 victims in 1996, but only 260 victims in 2010, a decrease of 27 percent. Also, "The proportion of homicide victims killed by offenders using firearms in 2009–10 represented a decrease of 18 percentage points from the peak of 31 percent in 1995–96 (the year in which the Port Arthur massacre occurred with the death of 35 people, which subsequently led to the introduction of stringent firearms legislation)."
Firearm suicides have fallen from about 22% of all suicides in 1992 [36] to 7% of all suicides in 2005. [37] Immediately following the Buyback there was a fall in firearm suicides which was more than offset by a 10% increase in total suicides in 1997 and 1998. [38] There were concerted efforts in suicide prevention from this time and in subsequent years the total suicide rate resumed its decline. [39]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_Australia
Firearm Deaths
The AIC’s 1988 report found that one third of all reported murders in Australia were committed with firearms, with gunshot wounds being “the single most common cause of death among homicide victims” and with research showing that “guns substantially increase the probability that death, rather than injury, will be the end result of a firearm attack.”[ 71]A 2003 report on firearms-related deaths between 1991 and 2001 found thatn 1991 there were 629 firearm related deaths in Australia compared to 333 in 2001. This represents a 47 per cent decrease in firearms deaths between 1991 and 2001. The incidence of both firearms suicides and firearms homicides almost halved over the 11 year period. While the number of firearms homicides has continued to decline, with 2001 recording the lowest number of firearms homicides during this period (n=47), the number of firearms suicides declined consistently from 1991 to 1998, but has since fluctuated. The number of firearm related accidents also fluctuated over the same period, from 29 firearms accidents in 1991 to 18 in 2001, but ranging between 15 and 45 over this time. While the numbers are quite small, the year 2000 recorded the highest number of firearms accidents (45 accidents) during the 11 year period.[ 72]The AIC’s 2008 handgun report stated that firearms are used in an average of 20% of homicides committed each year in Australia, and that “n 2005–06, firearm homicides fell to their lowest level in 13 years: 14 percent of all homicide victims. Since 1992–93, firearm homicide as a proportion of all homicides has halved, continuing a general downward trend in firearm homicide that began in the early 1980s.”[ 73] In terms of handgun use in homicides, the report found that[d]uring the early to mid-1990s, handguns accounted for less than 20 percent of all firearm homicides, but over the following 10 years this percentage increased to around 50 percent. This increase immediately followed the National Firearms Agreement in 1996, and it has been proposed that restrictions in the availability and access to certain firearms, and who can own a firearm, led to greater use of illegitimate means to acquire firearms, particularly those that are easily concealed such as handguns.[ 74]Other findings in the handgun report included that “[t]he majority of homicides, regardless of the method used to kill the victim, were ‘single victim/single offender’ incidents. Homicides committed by an individual using a handgun were more likely to result in multiple victims than homicides in general (11% compared with 5%), but only slightly more so when compared with all firearm homicides (9%).”[ 75] Furthermore, the report stated that “[t]he majority of firearms used to commit homicide in Australia since 1989–90 were held unlawfully at the time.”[ 76]The most recently available AIC annual crime survey found that “[t]he proportion of homicide victims killed by offenders using firearms in 2009–10 represented a decrease of 18 percentage points from the peak of 31 percent in 1995–96 (the year in which the Port Arthur massacre occurred with the death of 35 people, which subsequently led to the introduction of stringent firearms legislation).”[ 77]A 2012 AIC report on firearm trafficking referred to a forthcoming study in stating thatn Australia, the number of victims of firearm-perpetrated homicide (ie murder and manslaughter) has declined by half between 1989–90 and 2009–10 from 24 to 12 percent. (Chan & Payne forthcoming). The predominance of handgun-perpetrated homicide, as a proportion of all firearm homicide, rose from 17 to 45 percent between 1992–93 and 2006–07 (Bricknell 2008b; Dearden & Jones 2008) but dropped again in the following three years to a little over 10 percent. For the most recent year available (2009–10), handgun homicide comprised 13 percent of all homicides that were committed with a firearm (Chan & Payne forthcoming).[ 78]
http://www.loc.gov/law/help/firearms-control/australia.php
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